12 hours Ago By USA TODAY
A Kansas City man faces charges for tossing a Molotov cocktail and damaging vehicles parked at a Missouri Tesla dealership in March, the Justice Department announced. Federal prosecutors charged Owen McIntire, 19, with unlawful possession of an unregistered destructive device and malicious destruction of property after they said he damaged vehicles and charging stations at a Tesla dealership while on spring break, the department announced on April 18 . According to court papers, law enforcement found an unbroken Molotov cocktail on March 17 next to a Cybertruck that was on fire.
The fire spread to another Cybertruck and two vehicle charging stations before the Kansas City Fire Department extinguished the blaze. Prosecutors wrote in court papers that McIntire was home for spring break in Kansas City. They wrote that he attends a college in Boston.
“Let me be extremely clear to anyone who still wants to firebomb a Tesla property: you will not evade us,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement. “You will be arrested. You will be prosecuted.
You will spend decades behind bars. It is not worth it.” Bondi called attacks on Tesla property "domestic terrorism" in March, but hasn't yet filed such a charge.
Her comments came during a rise of attacks on Tesla dealerships, vehicles and other property as people retaliated against Tesla CEO Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency's takeover of multiple federal agencies. President Donald Trump created DOGE on his first day in office and tapped Musk to run it. FBI Director Kash Patel said McIntire's arrest is the second one this week where a person was charged for targeting Tesla property.
The other person was Jamison Wagner , who was charged on April 14 for arson attacks at the New Mexico Republican Party headquarters and a Tesla dealership. “These actions are dangerous, they are illegal, and we are going to arrest those responsible," he said. According to court papers, McIntire doesn't yet have an attorney.
Fire damaged 2 Cybertrucks, 2 charging stations at Kansas City Tesla dealership According to court papers, the Kansas City Police Department recovered a Molotov cocktail at the dealership on March 17. The device was created with an empty apple cider vinegar glass bottle, a towel and gasoline. Police found the bottle and towel covered with burn marks.
Law enforcement identified McIntire as a suspect after videos from witnesses, Tesla and a nearby business showed him walking toward the dealership and throwing the ignited cocktail at a Cybertruck, according to court papers. Prosecutors said that McIntire threw another lit cocktail before leaving the area. A driver, identified as witness two, described to police the possible suspect and the person's actions, prosecutors wrote.
"Witness 2 stated the individual was carrying something white and rectangular," according to court papers. "Witness 2 said that he saw the face well enough to know there was no mask but not well enough to give good descriptors of facial features because it was dark. Witness 2 said he stopped his vehicle and yelled at the unknown individual and that is when the individual picked up the pace and ran to the Kansas side of the street and through the yard.
" The FBI used GPS data from McIntire's phone to confirm he was at the Tesla location when the fires started. Acting Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Dan Driscoll called the fires a "deliberate and dangerous arson attack." "This wasn't vandalism - it was a violent criminal act," he said.
If convicted, McIntire could face a minimum 5-year prison sentence. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche indicated McIntire will not get a plea deal in the case. “Crimes have consequences," Blanche said.
"The people behind these violent and dangerous attacks on private property will face decades in prison — we will not make deals and we will not negotiate." Attacks on Tesla property rise as people's ire with Musk builds As Musk's controversial actions as the head of DOGE escalated, public backlash manifested in protests and increased vandalism at his Tesla dealerships. The tech executive hired several young engineers aged 19-24 to fulfill his directives at DOGE, which centered on eliminating positions Musk deemed to be unnecessary.
His takeover resulted in thousands of federal employees being laid off or fired . The agency tasked with making the federal government more efficient is growing, however. Musk, also a White House adviser , said DOGE is doubling its size from 100 to 200 employees .
People in Colorado , Massachusetts , New Mexico , Nevada , Oregon , South Carolina , Texas have been charged for various crimes relating to fires, gunshots and graffiti discovered on the auto company's property. Trump has came to Musk's aid several times, calling the man a "great patriot." People across the country have flooded town halls and protested against Musk's actions , at times calling the tech executive President Musk .
Musk has shrugged off his critics , calling DOGE a "revolution" bigger than the American Revolution. "The reductions in force have been so indiscriminate and clumsily laid out that we're actually endangering health and safety and the protection of federal property," Lee Eiden , a National Institutes of Health employee, told USA TODAY. Contributing: Fernando Cervantes Jr.
, Zac Anderson, Sarah Wire, Sara Chernikoff, USA TODAY; Reuters. Contact reporter Krystal Nurse at [email protected].
Follow her on X @KrystalRNurse , and on BlueSky @krystalrnuse.bsky.social .
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: College student faces charges for fires at Kansas City Tesla lot.
